Lighting means such as these are used, for example, for headlights in motor vehicles. In many countries, legal specifications are provided for the emission characteristic of motor vehicle headlights and, inter alia, are intended to ensure both adequate illumination of the area of the travel for the motor vehicle driver and the avoidance of dazzling the oncoming traffic. Sharp light/dark transitions are generally specified for the emission characteristic in this case.
In conventional headlights, an incandescent lamp or discharge lamp is provided as the light source. The predetermined emission characteristic is in this case achieved by means of so-called “shutters” in the form of diaphragms or blades, which are arranged in the beam path, and possibly optics such as a reflector with a downstream lens. These shutters are used in particular in order to achieve sharp light/dark transitions.
However, shutters such as these absorb the light striking them or deflect it in an undesirable direction, so that it is no longer available as useful light. This reduces the efficiency of a corresponding headlight.